Tribunal restored with new hiring

The federal government has appointed a new chairman and two members to the Competition Appellate Tribunal (CAT), restoring its functionality after a prolonged period of inactivity.

According to a notification issued by the Federal Ministry of Law and Justice on Thursday, Justice Sajjad Ali Shah, a former judge of the Supreme Court of Pakistan, has been appointed as chairman of the tribunal. Additionally, Dr Faiz Elahi Memon and Asim Akram have been appointed as members.

The tribunal serves as a specialised forum for handling appeals against decisions of the Competition Commission of Pakistan (CCP). Previously, in November 2023, Justice (Retd) Mazhar Alam Miankhel, former Chief Justice of the Peshawar High Court, was appointed as chairman. However, following his appointment as an ad hoc judge in the Supreme Court in June 2024, the tribunal became inactive once again.

Despite its brief period of operation, the tribunal had made notable progress in resolving pending cases. By July 2023, it had issued 30 orders on appeals against CCP decisions, enabling the CCP to recover Rs100 million in compliance with these rulings.